The government is moving to raise soldiers' leave expenses, according to reports on the 28th. If reflected in next year's budget, meal and lodging allowances are expected to rise for the first time in four years, and transportation costs for the first time in three years.
Currently, the transportation cost in soldiers' leave travel expenses is 138 won per kilometer. The meal allowance is 7,000 won per meal, and the lodging allowance is 40,000 won per night when needed. Depending on the distance between the unit and the residence, areas are classified into grades 1 to 10, and total leave expenses are provided based on these unit rates. By grade, leave travel expenses are 152,200 won for grade 1 (451 kilometers or more), the farthest, and 13,800 won for grade 10 (50 kilometers or less), the nearest.
This move to raise leave expenses is being carried out in response to the National Assembly's request to "expand travel expense support for enlisted service members." During the 2024 fiscal year settlement of account, the National Assembly said, "Soldiers' leave expenses are paid only three times in total, but soldiers actually take leave more than three times," and noted, "For leave exceeding three times, they have to cover transportation costs from their personal pay."
The Ministry of National Defense plans to maintain the current system of three payments but push to raise the standard unit rates for transportation, meals and lodging. A government official said, "Taking into account civil servants' travel regulations and price increases so far, we plan to improve the payment standards for soldiers' leave expenses to fit reality," adding, "We plan to consult with the Ministry of Planning and Budget."
For ordinary civil servants' domestic business trips, transportation is reimbursed based on actual fares for trains, buses and other modes. The meal allowance is 25,000 won per day, which is 4,000 won more than the 21,000 won converted from the soldiers' standard of three meals a day. For lodging, actual costs are reimbursed within a range of 70,000 won to 100,000 won per night depending on the region, which is 30,000 won to 60,000 won higher than the soldiers' standard.
Meanwhile, the budget for soldiers' leave expenses has been ▲ 43.993 billion won in 2021 ▲ 44.608 billion won in 2022 ▲ 43.03 billion won in 2023 ▲ 36.331 billion won in 2024 ▲ 35.36 billion won last year ▲ 35.896 billion won this year, showing a downward trend due to a decrease in service members.